MARINA DEL REY, California, January 10 /PRNewswire/ --

- ICANN Board believes that JPA Responsibilities are being met

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers today made its
formal submission to the Midterm Review of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA)
between ICANN and the United States Department of Commerce.

The submission's main point is that the conclusion of the JPA would be a
further step in the transition envisioned since ICANN was established -- one
of moving the Domain Name System to private-sector co-ordination.

"Ending the JPA will provide long-term stability and security for a model
that works," stated Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush in the ICANN Board
submission. "It will provide confidence to all participants that the
investment of time, thought and energy for over nine years has secured an
Internet coordination body that will always be owned by all stakeholders, not
managed or overseen by any one entity."

The U.S. Government has been committed to the transition of the DNS to
the private sector since 1998. Over this time there have been seven
Memorandums of Understanding between ICANN and the USG, and 13 status reports
measuring ICANN's progress.

The submission also states that the completion of the JPA will clearly
signal that JPA and the MOUs before it have been successful.

"This success should be commemorated," Dengate Thrush stated in the
Board's submission.

ICANN's Board is encouraging the Internet Community to take part in the
Midterm Review before the 15 February 2008 deadline for submissions.

If you continue to believe, in full transition of the domain name system
to the private sector, and in an Internet that is co-ordinated not
controlled, now is the time to say so and be a part of the next step in that
transition.

ICANN's entire submission to the Midterm Review, including a table
outlining the organization's achievements on the 10 responsibilities of the
JPA, is publicly available at http://icann.org.

A link to the Department of Commerce's Midterm Review is available online
at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/frnotices/2007/ICANN_JPA_110207.html.

About ICANN:

ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system
of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes
like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help
computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these
resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global
stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's
ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public
benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit:
http://www.icann.org.

Web site: http://www.icann.org